OUR CAMPAIGN HAS RECEIVED NOTICE OF FAKE ROBOCALLS TARGETING POTENTIAL VOTERS AND WE ARE WORKING WITH FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES TO TRACK DOWN THE SOURCE. IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED A FAKE ROBOCALL, PLEASE CONTACT THE CAMPAIGN IMMEIDATELY AT (302) 656-7360.
DUE TO THE SENSITIVE LEGAL NATURE OF THE MATTER AND POTENTIAL FEDERAL CRIMINAL CHARGES, OUR CAMPAIGN IS NOT ABLE TO PROVIDE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE MATTER. THE FLOWERS FOR TREASURER CAMPAIGN HAS NO ACTIVE ROBOCALLS AT THIS TIME.
Additional details to follow shortly!
By Jonathan Starkey
Wilmington, Del. – Chip Flowers, who ran on a platform that called for fundamentally revamping the state treasurer’s office, won all three counties Tuesday in the Democratic primary race against incumbent Velda Jones-Potter, who was appointed by Gov. Jack Markell in 2009.
Flowers won with 54.3 percent of the vote, with 34,721 Democrats voting statewide.
“I think this is a validation of the message and people have an appetite for change. They want this office to do more,” Flowers said Tuesday night. “We ran on ideas. We stayed on message. And as you see, the people want to give us a chance.”
Brian Selander, a spokes-man for Markell, said, “We congratulate Chip Flowers on his win and look forward to a strong Democratic ticket top to bottom.” Markell did not officially endorse either candidate, but has praised Jones-Potter’s experience.
State Sen. Colin Bonini, R-Dover South, who will face Flowers in the November general election, said he’s looking forward to the campaign.
“I think it will be a good contrast,” said Bonini, who is known as a penny-pincher.
Flowers, 35, said he did not run to use the treasurer’s office as a steppingstone, but it’s worth considering that the office has been a political springboard for the latest generation of star Delaware Democrats.
U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., who was governor from 1993-2001, and Markell got their political starts in the treasurer’s office.
It’s unclear how a controversy surrounding Jones-Potter’s consulting contract with the city of Wilmington affected her campaign, or contributed to her loss.
The News Journal first reported last month that Jones-Potter has been paid $108,400 in consulting fees by the city since 2007 to teach leadership skills to city employees.
Jones-Potter — who is married to Wilmington City Councilman Charles Potter Jr. — defended her work, but said she wouldn’t renew the contract if elected.
In the end, it may have been their views about the function of the state treasurer that drew a line between Flowers and Jones-Potter.
For a complete copy of the article, please click here.
Official Statement from Chip Flowers, Democratic candidate for State Treasurer:
“I am truly humbled and grateful for your support of my campaign. Because of your help, last night I was elected the Democratic candidate for State Treasurer.
With your continued support, I hope to be elected as your next State Treasurer so we can put ideas into action and make a positive difference for all Delawareans.
Again, thank you and I hope that I can count on you to make the election on November 2nd a success!”
To view a copy of Chip’s “Thank You” note, please click here.
By Frank Gerace
Wilmington, Del. – One of the Democrats running for State Treasurer says he has a plan to get Delaware’s economy rolling again.
Chip Flowers tells WDEL News he’ll take an active part in that, because that’s what Delawareans want, and he thinks he can convince General Assembly members to shift responsibility for managing the state’s Strategic Fund from DEDO to the treasurer’s office, in small steps if necessary.
Flowers goes up against incumbent Velda Jones-Potter in the primary September 14th, with the winner facing Republican Colin Bonini in the general election in November.
Please click here to see a brief video clip of WDEL’s video with Chip Flowers!
For a complete copy of the article and video about Chip Flowers, Democratic candidate for State Treasurer, please click here.
By Tom Byrne
Wilmington, Del. – The last person elected Delaware state treasurer currently sits in the Governor’s chair. In the 2010 election cycle, three candidates are vying for the position: appointed incumbent, Democrat Velda Jones-Potter, her Democratic primary challenger, attorney Chip Flowers, and Republican State Senator Colin Bonini.
The race received added scrutiny this week when details of Treasurer Jones-Potter’s consulting contract with the City of Wilmington became public. That contract has paid her over $100,000 since 2007 for running a leadership development program aimed at women.
Jones-Potter says the work for Wilmington does not create any conflict with her duties as state treasurer. “One of the first things I did when I became treasurer was to reach out to the Public Integrity Commission to find out whether or not continuing in a consulting capacity was okay or not, and if so how to disclose that,” said Jones-Potter. ”They gave me all assurance there was no conflict in doing that. And I followed their directions in terms of disclosure.”
Jones-Potter adds she worked on the program nights, weekends and on vacation time, outside her hours in the state treasurer’s office. She also points out she did not seek to work with the city, the city approached her.
Jones-Potter’s opponents are raising questions about her city contract. Flowers said he wants an investigation, “not to assign blame, but to figure out a way we can move forward so people don’t have an image of the treasurers holding two checks, one from the state, one from the city when that is the person charged with being fiscally responsible and the watchdog of their money.”
Bonini says Jones-Potter displayed a lack of transparency in disclosing the contract. “The governor who appointed her didn’t even know. She’s taking two paychecks and the governor who appointed her treasurer didn’t even know that,” said Bonini.
The governor’s office says Governor Markell was aware Jones-Potter had a consulting business when he appointed her , but did not know the City of Wilmington is one of her clients.
Jones-Potter dismisses those criticisms and indicates she has no intention of abandoning her work with the the City of Wilmington. ”I myself have never made a secret of the work that I do and the pride that I have in helping the city,” said Jones-Potter. ”I’ve talked openly and shared publicly what great work they are doing because I am very proud of it and happy to be a part of it.
The debate over Jones-Potter’s city consulting deal is hardly the only issue in the treasurer’s race. The three candidates offer radically different visions for the office.
Chip Flowers, running against incumbent Treasurer Velda Jones-Potter for the Democratic nomination, said the office should instate an early warning system to alert policymakers of gathering economic storm clouds.
Flower, speaking at an Aug. 23 candidates forum in Hockessin that Jones-Potter did not attend, said that having good data is paramount to preventing future recessions.
“But that data is no good in the hands of myself and other people in government,” he said. “It needs to go out to the people.”
The auditor can also help spot things like housing bubbles before they get close to bursting, said auditor candidate Ken Matlusky, running against Richard Korn for the Democratic Party’s nomination. Korn also did not attend the forum.
The bad banking that caused our current recession was preventable, Matluksy said, and the state auditor has a responsibility to ask the legislature to enact stricter rules on Delaware banks to rein in out-of-control practices.
“We don’t have the power of kings to say ‘you have to do this,’ but we can give advice and, hopefully, they will take our advice,” Matlusky said.
Driving out fraud and waste is vital to promoting economic prosperity, too, he said, and the auditor’s office needs to take a more proactive role in protecting whistleblowers.
The treasurer needs to be more proactive, too, Flowers said. When the state of Delaware strikes deals with corporations, like Fisker Automotive, the treasurer’s office needs to be engaged to ensure all plans are fiscally responsible.
The winner of the Sept. 14 primary for treasurer will face off against Republican Colin Bonini in the Nov. 2 General Election, while the winning Democratic auditor candidate will face Republican incumbent Thomas Wagner.
By Ginger Gibson (August 24, 2010)
Wilmington, Del. – Two Democrats running for state treasurer have loaned their campaigns a combined $280,000, augmenting the less than $60,000 they’ve collected in donations this year, according to the most recent filings.
In one of the few contested primaries for statewide office, Velda Jones-Potter, who was appointed to the seat in 2008, and Chip Flowers, an attorney from Wilmington, are vying for the Democratic nomination. The primary will be held on Sept. 14 and the winner will face Republican state Sen. Colin Bonini.
The economy is keeping potential donors from opening the checkbooks, Bronstein said.
“Fundraising numbers across the board are down about a quarter if you look across the country,” Bronstein said.
Flowers said he doesn’t expect to get the money back, even if he prevails and donations start rolling in during the general election. He added that given the economy and his ability to self-fund, he isn’t inclined to start asking voters to donate.
“I want to show the people of Delaware that I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is and invest in ideas I believe in,” Flowers said.
In other races, candidates also reported sizable fundraising totals.
New Castle County sheriff candidate Trinidad Navarro has raised more than $33,000 since the start of the year. When he filed his first report in January, the then dark-horse primary challenger to longtime incumbent Mike Walsh reported just $34 in funds raised.
Walsh hasn’t filed his report yet and is the only candidate not to have done so. He was given an extension, Election Commissioner Elaine Manlove said.
Walsh said Monday night that he’s raised $20,000.
Democratic Auditor candidate Ken Matlusky reported $14,000 in funds raised, and his primary opponent, Richard Korn, reported $9,420.
Also notable were the filings for the primary in the 19th Senate district between former Georgetown Mayor Joe Booth, who won the seat in special election, and tea party-aligned Eric Bodenweiser.
Bodenweiser reported $17,570 raised — $16,000 of which was from himself. He started the year with nothing and spent $14,679.55, leaving him with $2,890.45 entering the last month of the primary.
Booth raised $7,450, but he started the year with $32,870.56 from previous campaigns. Going into the last month of the campaign, Booth has $27,003.16 to spend.
The winner of the primary will likely head straight to Dover because no Democrat has stepped up to run for the seat.
All candidates in primaries filed reports covering funds raised from Jan. 1 until last week.
Flowers, who jumped into the race before Jones-Potter announced she would seek election to the office, loaned his campaign $200,000 from his personal money, according to his campaign finance disclosure filed last week.
“I have been blessed with a successful business and have the ability to loan myself that amount of money,” Flowers said.
His loan comes in addition to the $27,000 he raised in donations, mostly from attorneys and residents of the state.
Jones-Potter, who was appointed by Gov. Jack Markell to the seat when he vacated it, made two loans to her campaign, $55,000 in December of 2009 and $25,250 in May, according to her campaign finance disclosure filed on Monday.
Jones-Potter, whose husband is Wilmington Councilman Charles Potter, raised $31,940 in donations.
“She made a loan to the campaign and it’s going to be used however it needs to be used to help her win,” campaign spokesman Michael Bronstein said.
Contributions to both candidates were mainly small amounts from Delaware residents, with few donations approaching the $1,200 limit for statewide candidates.
After expenses, Jones-Potter reported $39,000 entering the last month and Flowers had $79,000 on hand.
Flowers thinks donors are waiting for the primary to end before before writing checks.
“Most Democratic donors, particularly in this climate, are saying, ‘We like Chip. We like the current treasurer, and we want to wait before we give money to either one of them,’” Flowers said.
For immediate release, Aug. 16, 2010
Contact: Larry Nagengast, Senior Advisor, 302-373-5254 or larry@chipflowers.com
Appointed State Treasurer Velda Jones-Potter has canceled tonight’s debate with Chip Flowers, Democratic candidate for State Treasurer. Ms. Potter has informed WDEL that she is suffering from dehydration.
Additional details regarding rescheduling will be forthcoming.
